Found a slow leak on rear G Force tire.

[ZR-1 Mack]

The car was put away for the winter and the air was at 35 psi in all tires just before Thanksgiving. The air pressure on my rear tire was down to 27 psi today.

After some swearing I took the tire off and found what looks like a nail puncture thru one of the thick tread areas near the back side of the rim.

I know the speed rating is gone on the tire, but has anyone ever just put a plug patch on a tire and called it good?

The tires only have 3k on them and I sure would like to get another year or so out of them.

[petefias]

I had my Good Year dealer patched several tires for me from the inside on several cars with excellent results. Never used just the plug.

[John Boothby]

Do not plug it! Have it patched from the inside.

[John Boothby]

Did you verify that it was actually leaking? As ambient temp and atmospheric pressure relative to when you last aired it up can make a difference of a few pounds. Of course, your other tires would be showing lower values also.

[ZR-1 Mack]

John,

The rest of the tires were within 1/2 # of the pressure I left them at. The puncture had a very small air bubble after 10 or 15 seconds

When I spoke to the tire shop that had a machine big enough for the back rim, the plan was to patch from the inside . If the patch ended up getting too close to the radius for side wall they were afraid it could roll up over time.

If the tech thought that could happen, that shop was using a combination plug patch. It is basically a patch glued from the inside that is held in place by pulling thru the plug.

I am also afraid of the regular plug that you can use without taking the tire of the rim.

Thanks Ron

[Tom]

The Goodyear tires can be patched without losing the speed rating if the hole is in the tread area and below a certain diameter. A specific style of patch/plug has to be used from the inside. I have seen the instructions online, I believe it was at either the Goodyear tire site or at the Tire Rack site.

[ZR-1 Mack]

Thanks Tom,

Got the tire back and the slow leak was actually on the bead (about an inch long). The tire store checked the tire carefully all over and the puncture I thought I had didn't get thru to the inside of the tire.

They buffed a little corrosion on the rim and used a bead sealer before remounting the tire. So far so good.. pressure is holding.